Method of preparing seed-beds.



T. W, HICKSr METHOD OF PREPARING SEED BEDS.

APPLICATION FILED AuG.2l. 191s.

l fig, 599;, Patented Sept 11, 1917.

Hlllll HIIH THOMAS w. HICKS, or iurmtnaroras, Maharashtra, ass

rite MACHINERY cot/realm, or MINNEAPOLIS, Milan's PAM.

METHOD OF PREPARING 315mm;

eashes.

I, Application flied August 21, 1916.

I '[0 all iii/tom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS W. Hrons, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county ofHennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Methods of Preparing Seed-Beds, of which the fol- Ilowing is a specification.

This invention relates to a method paring ground to receive seed.

For an ideal condition of soil to receive seed, the soil should beworked in some manner so as to be in a finely pulverized condi tion, andin most crops the granules of the pulverized soil should be smaller atthe bottom, or root section, of the seed bed and increase in size to thetop, or surface section. The sub-soil, or under surface from which ofprethe soil was removed before it was worked into its finely pulverizedcondition and upon which it is again deposited, should also be puncturedor scored so as to give a more intimate relation between the rootsection and the sub-soil, increase the surface of contact between thepulverized soil and the sub-soil "and allow moisture to pass morereadily through the surface of contact.

The seed should be deposited in the prepared bed at a uniform depthwhether it is sown broadcast or in the manner in which it is at thepresent time planted by drills.

Fertilizer should be applied to the soil, either distributed uniformlythrough the soil or deposited in a layer, or layers, a certain depthabove or below the seed or a combination of these methods the rootsection should be packed and the remainder of the soil then deposited onthe packed root sec tion.

I have conceived a new method of preparing soil to meet these idealconditions, the method consisting of a certain sequence of operationswhich may be departed from, more or less, within the limit of thisinvention.

In my co-pending application of even .date for improvements in tillers,I have described and claimed certain mechanism that will perform thefunctions described in this application, but this application has to doonly with the method of preparing the seed bed and does not contemplateany particular type of machine or machines.

To illustrate the method to be hereinafter Specification of LettersPatent.

iio. iltMxil-T.

claimed, reference is had to the drawi .1? which accompanies and forms apart of t specification in which Figure l is a View of one type oftiller described claimed my co-pending application 11..

inbefore cited. Fig. 2 is a s de so the same. Fig. 3 is section n. onthe line AA, 2, and Figs. 4, b, 6, i are views of various types ofrotorsused. in varying soil conditions.

The tiller may be drawn by any suitabl 6 source of power, and the plowshare 3. lifts a certain depth of soil and with the moll board .2 turnsthis soil onto the rotor which is driven at a comparatively highvelccity.

The soil is pulverized by the rotor guided by the shiel l f, isdeposited. on the screen 5 the forward. end 6.

The rearend of the screed, 5 is ported by an eccentric-ally mountedWheel agitate the screen, and the tie". the end is thus worked. hacltwarthe end 8.

The result is the soil lifted share is broken into grannies, sizes ofgranules falling from end of the screen and the la the back end of thescreen so tall L granules will be covered by the large si granules asthe machine is drawn forwart A pronged roller 9 serves to pinictursubsoil before the pulverized dirt f .lis b.

thereon, a hopper 10 deposits seer.

t then either in rows as a drill wonid do, or broadcast, a certainamount of soil is dep ted. between the feeding mecha hopper 10 and thefeeding i nanism 19 of the hopper 13 which is to deposit suitablefertilizer on the soil deposited. over the planted seed.

A weighted roller 1% packs the iIUO'lJSSC t tion and the remainder ofthe pnlver soil drops through the coarser meshes oil screen and thecompleted seed. bed pa" by the weighted roller The different types ofrotors shown in 1a..

Figs. 4 to 7, inclusive, are L ilized soils various conditions andselves, distribute soil in d1 granules so that this method n a workedwithout the use of tlie screei By increasing the number of hopychangingtheir position, am able the seed either sown broadcast or M 41 1 .1. Iiii. ii at the at and arrange the layers any desired depth desiredrelation with the of fertilizer in any planted seed.

While I have described my invention and illustrated it in one particularform, I do not wish to be understood as confining myself to thisparticular construction, as it is evident that my invention may beembodied in various ways and different constructions within the scope ofthe following claims:

1. The method for preparing seed beds, comprising the lifting of aportion of the soil, puncturing returning the soil lifted onto thepunctured subsoil in a pulverized condition.

2. The method of preparing seed beds, comprising the lifting andpulverizing of a portion of the soil, puncturing or scorin the sub-soiland returning the pulverize soil onto the punctured subsoil with the orscoring the subsoil, and.

. returning ized con of small size granules next to the subsoil,

and strata of larger size granules placed thereover.

l. The method of preparing seed beds comprising the lifting of a portionofthe soil, receiving it from the lifting means and the soil'to theearth in a pulverition with smaller granules at the bottom of thecompleted seed bed and larger lgranules at the top of the completed seedTHOMAS W. HICKS.

